Will & Grace Lawsuit Settles
Posted on April 30, 2007
The much-watched Will & Grace lawsuit has finally settled, according to Variety. Will & Grace creators/writers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan sued NBC for allegedly cheating them out of their fair share of the huge profits that the show made, especially now that it's in syndication. It was an odd sequence of events. The case went to trial, the verdict came back for Mutchnick and Kohan for $49 million (plus punitive damages), a juror then had to be replaced, and then NBC realized that if they didn't settle now, they stood to lose a fortune.
Having deliberated for over a week, the jury on the case -- in which Mutchnick and Kohan sued NBC Studios over money they believe they're owed -- had already rendered a verdict on the case.Although the exact sum of the settlement was announced, the word is that it is enormous. And the reason that jury foreman Dean Hartwell was kicked off the case? His blog contained statements about how much he hated big media companies (like NBC).But L.A. Superior Court Judge Warren Ettinger did not reveal the decision, because of the jury misconduct motion. Hartwell was removed after it was revealed that he runs a Web site known for taking a harsh stance against major corporations. Ettinger spent Thursday afternoon interviewing each juror to determine whether the dismissed member had a major impact on their decision. Because Ettinger indicated that Hartwell's strong opinions might have swayed jurors, it was generally assumed that the jury had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
The judge was set to tell the courtroom Friday at 9 a.m. if a mistrial has been declared, or if the jury would be sent back to deliberations with an alternate juror. Instead, the court was told that a settlement had been reached.